The marriage of Human Resources with technology is set to get even stronger, as industry experts predict core disruptions for the future. Deloitte recently published its report titled “HR Technology Disruptions for 2017” and the study indicates some very glaring changes in the near future. Of course, the underlying objective will be that people management plays a hand at the strategic table, aligning personal aspirations with the organizational direction. Organizations must imbibe these changes and set up their talent and subsequently, the enterprise for success.

The outlined trends indicate a significant shift from transactional to game-changing. The new order of culture, values and continuous feedback, will not only overhaul the current processes, but make way for new ways of working. Employees will now need to imbibe these new regimes, which includes developing an understanding of the new technologies.

Time for integrated tools: Currently, many organizations may be using tools that are disparate, or do not seamlessly talk to one another. Be it pulse surveys for measuring employee engagement, feedback management or culture assessment, a more integrated approach that combines all of these can be expected. End-to-end technologically enabled platforms will be the new order of talent processes, especially the softer aspects of people management. Vendors would need to cater to this pressing need and provide integrated solutions. Many are already walking the line—Workday comes with its own survey mechanism and Saba is already introducing one. HR tech vendors, such as, SuccessFactors and Oracle, must step up. The key is to “listen to employees” on all fronts and this is possible if the latest technologies, such as, real-time analytics, natural language processing, text analytics and narrative analytics, are applied to talent management.

Performance Management will be institutionalized anew: The last few years have seen a flux in performance management paradigms—companies doing away with the Bell Curve and with ratings altogether, agile ways of working and team-oriented analysis. Yet, there are almost no automated tools to tackle these across the organization. The next benefactors of this trend are the new-age technology companies—cloud based, team-oriented solutions that are not standalone, but effectively communicate with the existing HR solutions. This is the “next wave” of talent management providers.

HR in the cloud: Cloud-based HR platforms will be the next generation HR intervention. In a world, where everything is going the cloud way, we cannot expect people management to lag behind. While a few solutions are becoming popular by the day (Namely, Ultimate Software, Ceridian, ADP Vantage, Zenefits, BambooHR), we need to realise that there is still a lot of scope for new entrants offering unique solutions in the cloud.

Learning Management Systems will be reinvented: Legacy learning management systems (LMS) are a thing of the past. What will differentiate the learning organization from the others, is the adoption of new ways of learning—video learning being one promising trend. Some players, such as, Workday Learning, Fuse Universal and SAP Jam, have already started offering it. Also, one can expect a shift from LMS to LEP or Learning Experience Platforms, which is an engaging learning experience and not just a one-time intervention. It basically starts with creating a YouTube like experience for organizational learning.

Recruitment takes on a new form: Recruitment systems are expected to move away from mere applicant tracking to a more inclusive, marketing, brand-building, social process that it is today. Deep integration with sourcing tools, analytics and enterprise and workflow management, will happen through new tools. Some of the products that can expect to usher in a new age of recruitment are Entelo, Connectifier and Gild. The future of recruitment tools lies in becoming the next LinkedIn.

Mobile tools to dominate: Today, technology success is defined by the end-user experience. The same applies to the HR world—candidate experience, employee experience differentiate the progressive people organization with the not so much. Employee self- service will be delivered on mobile tools and applications, allowing an increasingly global and mobile workforce to connect and collaborate. We will move away from self-service to employee experience platforms, which will provide an all-encompassing avenue for all HR functionalities.

Wellbeing—the new trend: Technology is expected to penetrate the employee wellness and employee assistance market, delivering a sophisticated wellness experience to the user. Wearables are expected to be lapped up as incentives to stay well and productive. According to a Deloitte research, 40% of millennials will select an employer based on their health and wellness benefits. Hence, wellbeing initiatives will take on a new garb.

The basic idea behind these shifts is not just to focus on transactional aspects, such as, productivity and effectiveness, but to truly create a superlative experience for the employees and make their lives better. Organizations and technology vendors must gear up to cater to these expectations of a knowledgeable and aware workforce, who if taken care of, will be more than ready to give their all to the enterprise’s success.